NOWIN RACIAL JUSTICE

East New Yorkers Charge Tourists $20 to See Banksy’s Art in Their ‘Hood

Banksy has been spreading his brand of subversive street art around Brooklyn these days, and some savvy residents are using it as an opportunity to make some cash. Gothamist brought us the story on Thursday of a group of East New Yorkers who are charging tourists $20 to see Banksy’s work in their neighborhood. It’s a pretty genius move considering the fact that the artist’s work is sprouting up in some of the most impoverished areas of Brooklyn. As one resident says in the video, “I’m trying to get some bread. This is my ‘hood.”

One woman told Gothamist:

“They have been guarding it for a while drinking heavily, so who knows. They are pretty angry about how many white people are coming here. Side note, I have some cred here because I work close to that spot. The general feeling is that nobody cares about this neighborhood and now that they have something of value they should benefit. […] They reported that several yellow cabs have pulled up with people wanting to get a look. They are firm about the $20 fee and tried to warn me when I left about the crews from the area projects robbing people who look like they don’t belong. They wouldn’t let me take a picture, but were happy to let me take a nice long look while blocking some others who had not paid.”

Read this online at http://colorlines.com/archives/2013/10/wanna_see_banksys_art_in_brooklyn_its_gonna_cost_you.html

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